Portable and Foldable Lift

ABSTRACT

A portable and foldable lift can be attached to a surface such as a tailgate of a truck. The lift can be slid off the gate and used to lift heavy objects from the ground to the bed of the truck. The portable and foldable lift is returned in a folded position to the tailgate for easy storage. The portable and foldable lift can also be attached to a work bench, either on top or underneath, and can be folded up and stored out of the way.

REFERENCE TO RELATED CASE

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 (e) to provisionalapplication No. 61/785,191, filed on Mar. 14, 2013, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a portable and foldable lift that canbe stored away when it is not in use.

The portable and foldable lift that is attachable to a structure, suchas the tailgate of a truck, the upper or underside of a workbench, a vandoor, or any other appropriate structure. The portable and foldable liftallows a single person (or a slight person) to move and lift heavyobjects onto a raised surface.

Thus, the present invention allows one person to move heavy objects intothe bed of a truck, onto a workbench, into the interior of a van, etc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a portable and foldable lift thatis attachable to a structure, the portable lift that includes a supportmember, the support member extending between a top end and a bottom end,a lifting member, a support plate, the support plate operativelyconnected to the lifting member, the lifting member moving the supportplate relative to the support member, and a glide member operativelyconnected to the support member adjacent the top end thereof andslidably connected to a generally flat surface by an attachment member.

In some embodiments, the support plate is removably attached to thelifting member.

In some embodiments, the support member has a base attached to thebottom end there of.

In some embodiments, the glide member is rotatably and slidinglyconnected to the attachment member.

In yet another aspect, the present invention is directed to a portableand foldable lift that is attachable to a structure, the portable liftincludes a support member, the support member extending between a topend and a bottom end, a lifting member, a support plate, the supportplate operatively connected to the lifting member, the lifting membermoving the support plate relative to the support member, a glide memberoperatively connected to the support member adjacent the top end thereofand slidably connected to a generally flat surface by an attachmentmember, a base attached to the support member at the bottom end thereof,and a height adjustment member is attached to the support member toadjust the height of the support member relative to the generally flatsurface.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe detailed description which follows, and in part will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art from that description or recognizedby practicing the invention as described herein, including the detaileddescription which follows, the claims, as well as the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present embodiments of theinvention, and are intended to provide an overview or framework forunderstanding the nature and character of the invention as it isclaimed. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention, and are incorporated into and constitutea part of this specification. The drawings illustrate variousembodiments of the invention, and together with the description serve toexplain the principles and operations of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a portable andfoldable lift according to the present invention attached to thetailgate of a truck;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the portable and foldable lift of FIG. 1in an up position;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the portable and foldable lift of FIG. 1in a folded position ready for storage;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the portable and foldable lift of FIG. 1in a folded position being stored;

FIG. 5 illustrates that a removable support plate that can be used withthe portable and foldable lift of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of a set screw used to fix the glide member tothe top of the lift member;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a height adjustment member attached to atop end of the lift of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a portable andfoldable lift according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a portable andfoldable lift according to the present invention in a first position;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the portable and foldable lift of FIG.9 moving in an up position toward a structure; and

FIG. 11 is perspective view of another embodiment of a portable andfoldable lift attached to the underside of a work bench.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferredembodiment(s) of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numeralswill be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

FIGS. 1-5 show a first embodiment of a portable and foldable lift 10according to the present invention. The portable and foldable lift 10has a support member 12 with a top end 14 and a bottom end 16. Thesupport member 12 is preferably made from a hard, light material, suchas aluminum, but could be made of any appropriate material, including,for example, stainless steel, steel, structural plastics (e.g.,polyethylene), carbon fiber, and titanium. Aluminum, being less densethan steel, is better suited to the purposes of the invention. On oneside of the support member 12 are teeth 18, which are used by thelifting member 20, as discussed in more detail below. While the figuresillustrate two rows of teeth 18 on either side of the support member 12,there may be only one row, one central row of teeth, or the entire sideof the support member 12 may have the teeth 18. Alternatively, the teeth18 may be on multiple sides, depending on the lifting member 20 usedwith portable and foldable lift 10. The lifting member 20 in thisembodiment is an electric motor operatively connected to two gears, thegears having teeth that complement the teeth 18 on the support member12. Attached to the lifting member 20 is a support plate 22, which hassufficient rigidity to support the objects placed thereon. The supportplate 22 can be made out of any appropriate materials, including, forexample, aluminum, stainless steel, steel, structural plastics (e.g.,polyethylene), carbon fiber, and titanium. The size of the support plate22 may be of any size, limited only by the user's ability to store thesupport plate 22 or the weight thereof relative to the lifting member20. The support plate 22 also has a support rib 24 that may be connectedto and extend from the lifting member 20 or simply be used to providesupport to the support plate 22. See also FIG. 3. Alternatively, thesupport plate 22 may be of a sufficient strength and of a sufficientthickness to attach directly to the lifting member 20 without the needfor the support rib 24. The support rib 24 may also be larger or smallerrelative to the support plate 22 as illustrated in the figures and stillfall within the scope of the present invention. The lifting member 20 isconnected to the support plate 22 and/or support rib 24 by way of aconnector 26. The connector 26 allows the support plate 22 and/orsupport rib 24 to be rotatably attached to the lifting member 20. Asillustrated in FIG. 3, the support plate 22 and support rib 24 arerotated up 90 degrees relative to the lifting member 20 and the supportmember 12 from the position shown in FIG. 1. The support rib 24 isillustrated as being connected to connector 26 about a pin 28 and thenheld in a horizontal position with the removable pin 30. A secondremovable pin 32 is disposed at the top of the connector 26 to securethe support plate 22 and support rib 24 in the vertical positionillustrated in FIG. 3.

Attached at or near the top of the support member 12 is a glide member40. The glide member 40 allows the portable and foldable lift 10 tomoved be along the surface 50 of a tailgate, workbench, van door, orother secure structure 52 but still remain secured thereto. One exampleof a secure structure 52 is illustrated in FIG. 1 as a tailgate 52,attached to a truck 58, a portion of which is illustrated therein. Thesecure structure 52 in each of the other figures is illustrated as amore generic representation of a structure and could be a tailgate, awork bench, van door, etc. The glide member 40 is rotatably attached tothe support member 12 (see FIGS. 4 & 6) and can be secured relative tothe support member 12 by a fastener 48, such as a set screw, thumbscrew, or other appropriate screw or fastener. See FIG. 6. The glidemember 40 is slidably and rotatably attached to the attachment member54, which is fixedly attached to the surface 50 of a tailgate, workbenchor other secure structure 52. The attachment member 54, as illustrated,is a generally c-shaped channel 42 with sliding elements 44 slidingwithin the channel 42 and are attached to the glide member 40. Otherconfigurations of the attachment member 54 may be used and still fallwithin the scope of the present invention. This allows the portable andfoldable lift 10 to be slid out and off of the surface 50 of a tailgate,workbench or other secure structure 52, and rotated downward to bedisposed in the operating position, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The stowedversion of the portable and foldable lift 10 is illustrated in FIG. 4.

The support element 12 preferably has at the bottom end 16 a base 60 toprovide stability and support for the support element 12, particularlywhen the portable and foldable lift 10 is used on soft, rocky, uneven,or sandy ground. The base 60 may also have wheels 62, as illustrated inthe embodiment in FIG. 8. While several wheels 62 are illustrated, theremay be fewer (even none as illustrated in the other figures) or be of adifferent type, size, or in a different location (under, on the side of,etc., the base 60) and still fall within the scope of the presentinvention.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the support plate 22 and/or support rib 24 canbe removed from the connector 26 by removing the pin 28, allowing thesupport plate 22 and support rib 24 to be stored with the portable andfoldable lift 10 or separately therefrom. Also, removing the supportplate 22 and/or support rib 24 makes the portable and foldable lift 10lighter and easier for the user to lift up and store on the surface 50.

It should be noted that, as illustrated in FIG. 7, a height adjustmentmember 64 can be attached to the support element 12, thereby allowing asingle support element 12 to be used across different situations anddistances between the ground and the surface 50. As illustrated in FIG.7, the height adjustment member 64 is illustrated as a jack attached tothe top end 14 of the support member 12 and also to the glide member 40.The height adjustment member 64, which is illustrated as a hand crankjack, but could be any type of jack, allows the user to correct for anyadditional distance between the ground and the glide member to ensureproper alignment and support of the portable and foldable lift 10 whileallowing the support plate 22 to reach surface 50. While the glidemember 40 has some ability to compensate for distance differences withthe extension 46 and positioning the support member 12 relative to theattachment member 40, the difference may be greater than the length ofthe extension 46. Thus, the height adjustment member 54 provides foradditional distance compensation.

The lifting member 20 of the portable and foldable lift 10 is preferablyan electric motor that can be powered in a number of manners. Thelifting member 20 of the portable and foldable lift 10 can be outfittedto have an electrical cord 66 that can be plugged into a wiringreceptacle 56 at the rear of the truck (i.e., near the hitch or even onethat is installed for this purpose alone). See FIG. 1. The liftingmember 20 of the portable and foldable lift 10 preferably operates on18V, although any appropriate voltage may be used depending on the loadexpected to be carried and the motor used, so it can be powered throughthe cord or even by attaching it to an 18V battery, such as those usedwith rechargeable power tools. Similarly, the power supply could be ACrather than the DC power mentioned above.

FIG. 8 illustrates another embodiment of a portable and foldable lift100 according to the present invention. In the portable and foldablelift 100, the support rib 124 also has an extension 124 a. The extension124 a extends outward away from the support plate 122 and has a hook 128to attach to items that may be or are better suited to be lifted by ahook than to sit on the support plate 122. This configuration alsoallows for the object being lifted to be lifted higher relative to thesurface 50 than if it were simply on the support plate 122. Theextension 124 a could be attached to the connector 126 by support rib124 without the support plate 122. Alternatively, the hook 128 couldalso be attached to the support plate 122 and not the support rib 124 orthe extension 124 a. As noted above, the base plate 160 may also havewheels 62.

FIG. 9 illustrates another embodiment of a portable and foldable lift200. The portable and foldable lift 200 has a support member 212 with atop end 214 and a bottom end 216. The support member 212 is preferablymade from a hard, rigid material, such as aluminum, but could be made ofany appropriate material, including, for example, stainless steel,steel, structural plastics (e.g., polyethylene), carbon fiber, andtitanium. Aluminum, being less dense than steel, is better suited to thepurposes of the invention. Attached to the support member 212 are twosets of arms 234,236 in space relation to each other. The two sets arms234,236 are rotatably attached to the both the support member 212 andthe support plate 222. A jack 220 is attached to at least one of thearms 234,236. As the jack 220 is raised (can done with a hand crank or afoot crank), the arms 234,236 are raised, which in turn raises thesupport plate 222. The jack 220 may also have an actuator to avoid theuser from having to operate the jack 220 by hand. Since the two arms234,236 are rotatably connected to the support plate 222, the supportplate 222 is raised in and remains in a horizontal position as shown inFIGS. 9 and 10. The support plate 222 is preferably attached to the arms234,236 in a removable fashion to allow for easier and more compactstorage. The arms 234,236 are also collapsible for easy storage. Whilethe arms 234,236 can be collapsible in a number of ways, one way isillustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 by a joining member 250 being positionedbetween each of the two set of arms 234,236. A joining member 250 isattached between each of the sets of arms 234 b and 236 b and eachextends toward a respective one of the two sets of arms 234 a,236 a. Thetwo sets of arms 234 a,236 a are then attached to a respective joiningmember 250 by two pins 254, 256. The pin 254 is removed from the twosets of arms 234 a,236 a and the joining member 250 to collapse the lift200, and the two sets of arms 234 a,236 a rotate about the pin 256. Theallows the two sets of arms 234,236 to be folded up against the supportmember 212. Additionally, while the joining member 250 is close to thecenter of each of the arms 234,236, a joining member 250 can be placedanywhere along the length of the arms 234,236 and still fall within thescope of the present invention. As with the other embodiments, thesupport plate 222 has sufficient rigidity to keep the objects thereon.The support plate 222 can be made out of any appropriate materials,including, for example, stainless steel, steel, structural plastics(e.g., polyethylene), carbon fiber, and titanium. The support plate 222may also have support rib 224. Alternatively, the support plate 222 maybe made strong and of a sufficient thickness to attach directly to thearms 234,236 without the need for additional support.

The portable and foldable lift 200 also has a glide member 240. Theglide member 240 allows the portable and foldable lift 200 to moved bealong the surface 50 of a tailgate, workbench or other secure structure52. See FIGS. 1 and 11. The glide member 240 is rotatably attached tothe support member 212 and can be secured relative to the support member212 by a set screw, thumb screw, or other appropriate screw or fasteneras illustrated above in FIG. 6. The portable and foldable lift 200 mayalso have a height adjustment member 264 attached thereto. Asillustrated, the height adjustment member 264 is attached to the top end214 of the portable and foldable lift 200. The glide member 240 isslidably and rotatably attached to the attachment member 54, which isfixedly attached to the surface 50 of a tailgate, workbench or othersecure structure 52. The attachment member 240, as illustrated, is agenerally c-shaped channel 242 with sliding elements 244 sliding withinthe channel 242 and are attached to the glide member 240. This allowsthe portable and foldable lift 200 to be slid out off of the surface 50of a tailgate, workbench or other secure structure 52 and rotateddownward to be disposed in the operating position, as illustrated inFIG. 8.

FIG. 11 illustrates the portable and foldable lift 10 attached to theunderside of a workbench 80. Rather than resting on top of the bench 80,it can be secured up under the bench 80 to keep it out of the way.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus it isintended that the present invention cover the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

I claim:
 1. A portable and foldable lift that is attachable to astructure, the portable lift comprising: a support member, the supportmember extending between a top end and a bottom end; a lifting member; asupport plate, the support plate operatively connected to the liftingmember, the lifting member moving the support plate relative to thesupport member; and a glide member operatively connected to the supportmember adjacent the top end thereof and slidably connected to agenerally flat surface by an attachment member.
 2. The portable liftaccording to claim 1, further comprising a base attached to the supportmember at the bottom end thereof.
 3. The portable lift according toclaim 1, further comprising a height adjustment member attached to thesupport member.
 4. The portable lift according to claim 3, wherein theheight adjustment member is attached to the top end of the supportmember.
 5. The portable lift according to claim 1, wherein the base hasat least one wheel attached thereto.
 6. The portable lift according toclaim 1, wherein the support plate is removably attached to the liftingmember.
 7. The portable lift according to claim 1, wherein theattachment member is attached to a tailgate of a truck.
 8. The portablelift according to claim 1, wherein the attachment member is connected toa work bench.
 9. The portable lift according to claim 1, wherein theglide member is rotatably and slidingly connected to the attachmentmember.
 10. The portable lift according to claim 1, wherein the liftingmember is movable along at least a portion of the support member. 11.The portable lift according to claim 1, wherein the lifting member is ajack.
 12. The portable lift according to claim 1, wherein the jack isattached to at least one connecting arm, the at least one connecting armoperatively connected to the support plate.
 13. The portable liftaccording to claim 10, wherein the lifting member is an electric motorattached to a gear and the support member has teeth along at least aportion thereof to engage
 14. A portable and foldable lift that isattachable to a structure, the portable lift comprising: a supportmember, the support member extending between a top end and a bottom end;a lifting member; a support plate, the support plate operativelyconnected to the lifting member, the lifting member moving the supportplate relative to the support member; a glide member operativelyconnected to the support member adjacent the top end thereof andslidably connected to a generally flat surface by an attachment member;a base attached to the support member at the bottom end thereof; and aheight adjustment member is attached to the support member to adjust theheight of the support member relative to the generally flat surface. 15.The portable lift according to claim 14, wherein the attachment memberis attached to a tailgate of a truck.
 16. The portable lift according toclaim 1, wherein the attachment member is connected to a work bench.